Okay, we just realized something slightly odd; we spent so long complaining about PowerPC G4 production stalling out at 500 MHz last year, we seem to have gotten "stuck" at the half-gigahertz level just like Motorola did. Ever since Apple announced the 733 MHz Power Mac G4, we've been relatively quiet about the "Megahertz Gap" issue, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. After all, sure, now we're at 733 MHz, but Intel's at 1.5 GHz. For the mathematically obtuse, that means our fastest clock speed is less than half of that of "the enemy." Think about that for a second; that means that, proportionally speaking, we've actually lost ground since the G4 was at 500 MHz and Intel and AMD hit the magic 1 GHz level.

So if anything, we should be complaining more, not less. Instead, we find ourselves daydreaming idly about Apple's glorious new 733 MHz powerhouse and all the great stuff we could accomplish if we owned one. It's like we're so used to yelling "we're still at 500 MHz," we're not really capable of yelling "we're still at less than half the clock speed of Intel" instead. Weird, no? But we bet plenty of you are at least happy that we shut up about it for a while.

What got us thinking about the whole clock speed issue again, however, is a tasty little tidbit over at Mac OS Rumors. If you're in a trusting mood, you'll be interested to hear that Motorola is actually having a pretty easy time cranking out 533, 667, and even 733 MHz G4s these days-- easy enough for dual-processor 667 and 733 MHz Power Macs to surface in time for May's Worldwide Developer Conference. Even more interesting, however, is the rumor that Apple wants its next megahertz jump to be from 733 to 1000-- and Motorola might actually be in a position to deliver. Yes, if Steve has his way, we'll see gigahertz Power Macs unveiled as early as July at New York's Macworld Expo, and the systems will actually ship by the end of August.

We don't recommend that you place any heavy bets on Apple hitting the Big Gig in time for the festivities in the Big Apple, but it's nice to think about, anyway. Why, if the above rumor is correct, and Intel stands perfectly still, the PowerPC's clock speeds might soon approach 67% of the competition's! We know, we know-- clock speed is no reliable measure of overall performance. But it is the measure by which the Great Unwashed Masses judge speed when they're shopping for computers, and we sure wouldn't mind seeing a gigahertz Power Mac give Apple's sales figures a nice little kick in the kiester.

Bored with the same old refuses-to-die Disney-Apple buyout rumors? Disappointed that the Sony-Apple buyout rumors vanished quicker than Microsoft's credibility on the witness stand? Mourning the fact that the AOL-Apple takeover rumors never even got off the ground? Sounds to us like you could use a refreshing little trip down Memory Lane, friend. And we've got just the thing: a buyout scenario you never thought you'd see again.

Faithful viewer David Marcantonio clued us in on the fact that at least one analyst is publicly musing the synergy of an Apple takeover by-- wait for it-- Sun. According to a Reuters article about the slowdown in the personal computer market and the inevitable industry consolidation that it will bring, analyst Michael Kwatinetz thinks that Apple's "unique nichy workstation-type aura" might make it a "good complement to Sun as a Sun segment." Sun buying Apple? If you've been around for a while, that concept shouldn't be entirely foreign to you; Sun did make an offer to buy Apple back in the Scary Days of the mid-'90s. We seem to recall that the offer was so chintzy, even the Apple of old (bleeding red ink from a million cuts) couldn't justify a sale at such a low-ball price.

This isn't to say that a Sun-Apple merger is actually in the works, or even on the radar; it's just one analyst talking out of his assets. Aside from the fact that both companies are run by men who, either publicly or privately, long to see Microsoft razed to the ground and the world's largest amusement park erected over the rubble, we just don't see a buyout by Sun happening anytime soon. Sun had its chance years ago, refused to loosen its purse-strings, and blew its one shot. Heck, these days, market caps notwithstanding, Apple has more cash on hand than Sun does. Still, it's a nice break from that stale old Disney hoo-ha, isn't it?

Still holding out hope for an Apple-branded PDA to replace the years-dead Newton? If so, then you're far more optimistic than we are. We waited patiently (well, okay, not that patiently) for years, but the Mac OS-based handheld that Steve promised us in 1999 just never surfaced. Eventually we here at AtAT headquarters decided to arm ourselves with Palms and Visors, figuring that if any force could finally get Apple to ship its long-rumored handheld, it'd be Murphy's Law; after we spent several hundred dollars on competing products, obviously Apple would release its own device the very next week, thus requiring us to unload our new toys on eBay before buying Apple's version, right?

But guess what? It's been several months, now, there's still no "MacMate" on the market, and we really don't think one is going to surface anytime soon. That's okay, though; just because Apple isn't building PDAs with its own distinctive sense of style, that doesn't mean other companies aren't filling in as best they can. Handspring's products, in particular, gained a reputation as Mac-friendly PDAs, both because they supported USB-enabled Macs out of the box, and because the Visor Deluxe was available in a wide selection of iMac-like translucent colors. And if a certain photo bobbing around the 'net is legit, then Handspring's latest creation looks like it borrows a few stylistic elements from a certain titanium laptop we all know and love.

We doubt it's actually made out of titanium, but take a gander at the pic posted over in PDABuzz's discussion forums and tell us that the allegedly-imminent "Visor Edge" doesn't remind you a whole heckuva lot of a PowerBook G4. The matte-silver case, the metallic buttons, the clean lines and beveled edges-- if you want a PDA that matches your PowerBook G4 as closely as possible, the Visor Edge looks like the only choice. Even its departure from the typical PDA form-factor seems familiar; just as the PowerBook G4's aspect ratio is wider than other notebook computers, the Visor Edge seems longer than other Palm OS devices-- it almost looks like a mobile phone.

By the way, we're not accusing Handspring of actually ripping off Apple's design. We have to assume that the Visor Edge has been in development for far longer than the two months since the PowerBook G4 went public, and Apple guards its secrets very carefully; we doubt Handspring's corporate spies are good enough to have smuggled photos of prototype PowerBooks out of One Infinite Loop sometime last year. Still, the similarities are remarkable-- and gorgeous. If the Visor Edge came in a color model, we might be asking if any of you are interested in a slightly-worn Visor Prism right about now.